Cloud
by Siennax3
Summary: Emma never expected to find love shortly after moving across the country with her best friend. What happens when a third party is added?
1. Part One

**Part One**

**_Author's note: I have always been more of a reader than a writer on here. The last few weeks have been draining on me with my anxiety and I feel like I needed to create something. My usual go to hasn't been cutting it for me(makeup) and I have been lacking the inspiration on that front. SO I thought maybe I would give writing about one of my favorite characters a go. I'm not sure where this will take me, possibly a two-three parter if I go through with what I have in mind. This may end up being the only piece I put out there since this is mainly me trying to work through this episode I am going through at the moment. And Venom(2018) has become a comfort blanket of sorts for me whenever I need a pick me up. If you have read this far and end up giving this fic a shot, thank you. I know I am not a writer like those who put out amazing pieces each week or month or even daily so I appreciate you giving what I have written any of your attention. Any and all feedback would be appreciated. I'll end this ridiculously long author's note now and hope you enjoy what I have written so far!_  
**

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Venom, Eddie Brock or any of the characters within the franchise. I own the original characters and the plot that are not directly tied to the movie.**_

_**EDIT: I have been going the first chapter a bit throughout the day and tweaking bits here and there. Mostly spacing and some wording. Nothing drastic like any plot change or anything.**_

* * *

Love was not something Emma found much luck with. A few dates here and there. One or two VERY short-lived relationships. Nothing ever lasted long enough for her to ever even consider what love really was to her. Especially romantic love.

But this year was going to change that.

About 6 months ago, Emma moved all the way to California with her best friend, Raya. San Francisco to be more exact. The duo moved into a cozy 2-bedroom apartment with Emma's cat, Ragnar, joining them. The apartment wasn't in the best neighborhood, but it was safe enough and the rent was reasonable. Not costing nearly as much as both an arm and a leg like her old apartment back on the east coast.

Exploring the city in the first few weeks Emma found herself a sanctuary of sorts. A quaint bookstore conveniently placed next to a coffee shop. Her Saturday's and any time not at work or with Raya, Emma spent getting herself a sesame seed bagel at the coffee shop and then reading for an hour or two at the bookstore. Sometimes she would change it up and buy a book and spend those few hours in the coffee shop.

It was on one of those days that she met Eddie Brock. The Eddie Brock, as he is known to almost everyone else in San Francisco. It was about as cliché as any first impression/introduction could be in a coffee shop. Girl picking up her order while not paying attention and walking into the guy trying to fix his coffee. It was about as messy as you could imagine with both parties being covered in Eddie's coffee.

What may have been a bad start had it happened to anyone else, ended with Emma buying Eddie another coffee and the two talking for those few hours before Emma would head home. Emma learned that Eddie was a pretty big deal in the city being an investigative reporter turned journalist who even had his own show, The Eddie Brock Report, at one point.

"You wouldn't believe how refreshing it is to meet someone who doesn't already know my name." Emma couldn't believe how easy it was talking to Eddie. She didn't have the best luck when it came to opening up to anyone new and here she was, talking to Eddie about whatever came to mind for almost two hours now. She felt like she had known him for years. "It probably helps that I've only been living here for less than a month." Emma chuckles as she finishes her bagel. "I hardly know anyone besides the person I share an apartment with, Mel who owns the bookstore and the guy who takes my order here every week," she said while holding up three fingers.

"Well now we make four," Eddie smiles. Emma didn't think much of it, probably because she was too busy staring at how nice his smile was. Maybe she had heard him wrong.

Brushing it off, Emma decided to make a move for the first time ever in her life. "It's getting late and Raya is probably expecting me home for dinner at any moment now. I really enjoyed your company. Do you think I could get your phone number? Maybe? If not that's fine, I'm not a stalker I promise." Emma rambled as Eddie sat chuckling while already pulling his phone out and sliding it towards her.

Emma never ran so fast in her life than she did home to tell Raya what happened. Not trying to get ahead of herself but she couldn't have guessed that a change in scenery would possibly lead to her finding someone. "Move to the other side of the country and you find yourself a man within the first month," Raya was almost squealing. "Ray please."

Emma was really trying to not overthink this, "what if I'm wrong about this? It almost feels too good to be true." Eddie really was almost too good to be true. An attractive, really attractive, guy who could hold a conversation better than any other guy she's ever met before and wasn't just talking to hear his own voice. Even though he had a really nice voice to listen to. "A guy who spends two hours talking to a girl he just AND exchanged numbers with her," Raya rambles, "yeah I think he's at the very least a little bit interested."

Not even two minutes after Emma's phone goes off. Raya gives her a knowing look.

Fast forward two months to the middle of October. Ever since Eddie texted Emma the night they met asking her if she would meet him for breakfast the next morning, they had been almost inseparable. Slowly moving through the "awkward" phase of getting to know one another better, though they would hardly call it that, Emma found she was spending more free time with Eddie.

You could find the two walking around the city, at their coffee shop or at Battery East Vista. The two would talk about anything from music to movies, books to work and even makeup which Eddie found Emma was more passionate about than anything else.

"My office job isn't terrible." Emma started, "My boss is great. I barely know he's even there unless something urgent comes up. The pay isn't too bad and can't beat having weekends off." Eddie nodded, "That's hard to come by these days. Especially having a boss who's not an asshole." Emma laughed, "Exactly! Which is why I try not to complain too much because it could always be worse. But I keep getting this feeling that I should've done something different, ya know? Something more fulfilling for myself and I shouldn't have listened to everyone else around me about how what I really love wouldn't get me anywhere because it wasn't practical enough."

"It's still something you could try pursuing, it's never too late," Eddie said.

That's when Eddie decided to dive into the still uncomfortable topic of what happened to him no more than two years ago. "Ya know, I was blacklisted for months." Eddie began. "I went from being THAT guy, who was on top of the world and thought nothing could touch me to being out of a job, a relationship, and a home."

Without realizing it, Emma grabbed Eddie's hand as he continued. "I had an interview with the head of Life Foundation, Carlton Drake. The guy was a complete asshole. I found out information that would expose him for how awful and unethical his practices in the foundation were. I thought what better way to do that than in the middle of the interview. Having no thought to the consequences of my actions I lost everything because of him."

Eddie hesitated before continuing. "While I was trying to take down one asshole, I ended up being an even bigger one. My fiancée worked for the law firm representing Drake's case and I logged into her email while she was sleeping and used the information in her emails to try and hurt him. I ended up only hurt myself and hurting Anne even more." Eddie laughed while squeezing Emma's hand and lacing their fingers, "It was a reality check if I've ever seen one. 6 months later though and Drake got what was coming to him. Exactly what he deserved."

"You're back at your old job now though?" Emma asked. Eddie chuckles, "Yeah my asshole of a boss offered me my job back once he figured out that I was right all along." Emma couldn't stop herself from snuggling into Eddie's side as they spoke. "It sounds like you've grown a lot since that situation," Emma said. "I may not have known you then but the Eddie you talk about before all of that happened sounds a lot different than the Eddie in front of me right now. You seem like less of an asshole now." Emma laughed as Eddie shoved her playfully.

Not a second later, Emma could have sworn she heard Eddie grumble something under his breath. Eddie brushed it off saying he had a tickle in his throat causing him to cough and that was probably what she heard. Emma shrugged as the two walked hand in hand as they continued their walk.


	2. Part Two

**Part Two **

_**Author note: Another chapter much quicker than I anticipated but my brain wouldn't stop giving me possible ideas for these two. Please let me know what you think of these first two chapters so far and any ideas or tips you may have for me moving forward. Enjoy!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Venom, Eddie Brock or any of the characters within the franchise. I own the original characters and the plot that are not directly tied to the movie.**_

_**EDIT: I have been going the first chapter a bit throughout the day and tweaking bits here and there. Mostly spacing and some wording. Nothing drastic like any plot change or anything.**_

* * *

It was on one of their rare nightly outings on a Tuesday, Emma found out what Eddie meant months ago when he referred to himself as "we." The two had stopped at one of the ice cream shops not too far from Battery East Vista where they would sit at their usual bench talking about whatever came to mind. It may have been the beginning of November but it was still warm enough to enjoy the cold treat.

"Your fiancée, what happened with her after the Life Foundation incident?" Emma questioned. She wasn't sure if the topic of Anne, Eddie's ex, was really a good choice of topic but she was curious and had been wondering about her ever since Eddie told her about it.

Eddie not even hesitating while eating his double chocolate ice cream cone covered in chocolate sprinkles, "Anne's better now. She's a district attorney now and engaged to a really great guy, Dan." He had a soft look on his face as he spoke of her.

"Sounds like you two patched things up." Emma stated. She could tell just by the look on Eddie's face he still cared for Anne and had a special place for her in his heart. "We did. 6 months after losing everything I showed up on her doorstep, which was our old place, thinking I was going to win her back. That was until I saw Dan get out of the car with her. I couldn't even hate the guy. Despite knowing who I was and what I had done to Anne, he was so kind to me." Eddie paused. "I knew I had lost her completely then and it took me a little bit to accept that and move on. Now I'm happy for her and she deserves the happiness and love Dan gives her which I wasn't able to."

She didn't know why she asked the question or why she needed to know. The past couldn't be changed and it never helped dwelling on the "what ifs" but she asked anyway.

"Do you think you guys would still be together today had you not had that interview with Carlton Drake?" She was almost afraid of Eddie's answer but she didn't know why. Not really.

"I wondered that question everyday after she left me and I don't think I'll ever truly know the answer. We were in love and probably would have gotten married like we were supposed to. But, in a strange way I think what happened was supposed to happen, ya know?" Emma nodded understanding Eddie completely.

Eddie continued, "I think somewhere down the line something like this could have happened whether I took that interview with Drake or not." The sun had set and the area grew quiet as people ventured home or any other location to continue their night.

Eddie took Emma's hand and rubbed his thumb over hers. "I know we haven't really touched on what this is between us but." He paused. "I really like you and enjoy your company. You don't know how happy I am today that you bumped into me and knocked my coffee all of myself." Eddie laughed as he could tell that moment was still a sore spot for Emma even as she found herself laughing with him.

Finishing off her vanilla milkshake, Emma replied with a small smile, "I like you too, Eddie." She truly did. Off in her own thoughts for a minute, Emma missed the flash of Eddie's eyes that could have easily been blamed on the poor lighting of where they were sitting but was actually something more.

She was soon to be 29 and found any feelings she thought she had for potential partners before didn't hold a flame to how she was feeling about Eddie.

Every time she was around him she felt lighter. He made her laugh, a lot. Even if it was at her own expense sometimes. She could tell he had a good heart just by how caring he was to the homeless people throughout the city. Whenever they met up at their coffee shop, he always beat her there and had her favorites waiting for her. The little things he did for her are what made her heart almost jump out of her throat sometimes.

She could almost go as far as saying she was falling in love with the guy. But, she wouldn't get ahead of herself just yet. It's still only been 3 months.

"We should probably head back now before it gets too late. Wouldn't want Raya killing me for having you out past curfew." Eddie giggled. "You're such a dumbass, Eddie." Emma rolled her eyes as she laughed at him. "You love it," he quipped.

She really did.

"So I was thinking," Emma started nervously. Eddie squeezed her hand in reassurance. "What's up?" Emma bit her lip unsure if she was maybe moving too fast with what she was about to propose to him. Still feeling like this was all new territory for her never getting this far into a relationship to even make plans like this, she asked anyway. "Do you think maybe, well, Thanksgiving is coming up in a few weeks and I just thought." Emma paused and mentally screamed at herself to get a grip on yourself. "Would you want to spend it with me?"

Looking up to Eddie's face and noticing him smiling at her, she couldn't help but blush. "I wouldn't want to spend it with anyone else." Eddie continued smiling as they made their way to Emma's apartment.

Feeling relief Emma started rambling on plans for the holiday. It was decided the dinner would be at Emma's apartment so Raya could join them, of course. Emma was almost shaking with excitement that things were going so well and knew this was going to be a big step in their relationship.

As if the universe hadn't laughed at her enough throughout her life, things took a drastic turn on what would've been an amazing night for Emma.

One minute they were talking about the desserts they would have for this thanksgiving dinner, Eddie was very adamant about all the chocolate. Emma couldn't argue with him on that one not being a fan of the more traditional thanksgiving desserts such as pie. The next minute a man holding a gun decided he wanted Emma's purse and whatever else he thought he could take.

Emma, scared pretty much shitless, was prepared to give the man whatever he wanted just so he would leave them alone. What she wasn't prepared for was to experience fear like she never felt before to the point of passing out.


	3. Part Three

**Part Three**

**Author's Note**: So I'm getting this part out much quicker than I thought. We have a bit of Vee in this one and some more of Raya(inspired by one of my best friends). Hope you guys enjoy!

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Venom, Eddie Brock or any of the characters within the franchise. I own the original characters and the plot that are not directly tied to the movie._**

* * *

"Vee, I told you not to do that!" Eddie couldn't believe how fast the night went from amazing to a complete nightmare. He wasn't prepared for the conversation that was to more than likely follow once Emma came to.

"**BUT EDDIE!**" a deep voice rumbled.

"No! No buts, Vee! This wasn't how she was supposed to find out!" Eddie was ready to rip his hair out. Finally he found a great person, the first person Venom actually took a liking to who wasn't Anne. It seemed it took longer for Venom to move on from the idea of Anne and Eddie ever getting back together. Now it didn't matter because everything wasruined.

"**WHAT WERE WE SUPPOSED TO DO? LET THAT TURD HURT WHAT IS OURS?" **Venom hissed. "**MAYBE IF YOU WOULD HAVE LISTENED TO ME WHEN I WAS TRYING TO GET YOUR ATTENTION THIS WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED!"**

Venom continued, "**OR MAYBE IF YOU WERE NOT SUCH A PUSSY AND TOLD HER ABOUT US BEFORE!"**

"Vee," Eddie sighed. "Telling someone the person they're seeing is host to an alien that has an appetite for bad guys isn't something you just drop on a person. It has to be the right time."

"**BUT IT IS NEVER THE RIGHT TIME FOR YOU EDDIE!" **Venom growled.

"It doesn't matter now, Vee?" Venom whimpered at that.

The moment Eddie was dreading came quicker than he wished. Emma stirred awake opening her dark eyes and looking around the area in bewilderment.

It took her a moment to remember where she was and what happened.

Emma jumped up only to fall back down because she moved too fast too soon. "YOU," she started while staring at Eddie with wide, fearful eyes.

"Babe, I can explain everything if you give me a chance," Eddie pleaded holding his hand out to help her up.

Ignoring his hand, Emma stood up and looked like she really just wanted to run away. "EXPLAIN?! How do you explain turning into, I don't even know what that was, Eddie! And then completely devouring that man whole?!" She started pacing. "I'm crazy. I must be crazy because there is no way what I saw was real."

Emma was shaking. Her mind was racing a mile a minute with thoughts. All these thoughts that were telling her "I told you so" and "everything is always too good to be true." She felt like she couldn't breathe.

"I'm going home. I can't do this..." She whimpered. There was no way she could deal with this. Whatever this even was.

The look in Eddie's eyes almost killed her. She knew that look all too well from the rejection she's faced in her life. She hated herself for being the cause of that look on his sweet face but she just couldn't bear to find out what happened.

"If it's okay with you, I'll walk you home to make sure you get there safe?" Eddie asked softly. Emma nodded. They walked side by side in the direction of Emma's apartment in silence.

"**I'M SORRY, EDDIE." **Venom rumbled softly as Eddie walked away from Emma's apartment door.

Eddie sighed, "maybe this is how it was always going to turn out." He turned the corner of her street possibly for the last time. "Maybe it's supposed to just be us, Vee."

* * *

The tears wouldn't stop flowing. She felt like she couldn't breathe and every time the tears slowed down she would think of Eddie and the tears would start right back up again.

Raya found her sitting on the floor against the door to their apartment. Stopping what she was doing, Raya knelt down next to Emma and just held her.

"I'll kill him." Raya said. She knew her best friend wouldn't be a sobbing mess on the floor for any other reason. "You know I will."

Emma sobbed even harder and Raya wrapped her arms around her best friend even tighter.

"He didn't do anything," Emma hiccuped while rubbing her already sore eyes. "Well not like what you're probably thinking."

Raya pulled back someone confusion and stared her hazel eyes into Emma's. "If he didn't do any of the number of things that are running through my brain right now, then what did he do to have you like this right now? I have never seen you like this over a guy before."

"I wouldn't even know where to begin because I don't even know exactly what happened." Emma spoke softly unsure if she should even bring up the night's events to Raya. 'What if she thinks I'm crazy?' Emma thought.

"Try me." Raya replied. "We've been best friends for what 10 years if not more? You know you can come to me about anything as long as your comfortable."

"I don't even know where to start, Ray." Emma said. Raya rubbed Emma's back while saying, "probably at the beginning."

Emma turned and glared. "Sorry, sorry. I know. Now's not the time to be a smart ass," Raya chuckled half heartedly. "Take your time. We have all night." Raya said.

Sighing, Emma ripped her jacket off and started toeing the checkered vans off her feet to try and get at least a little more comfortable for what was about to be a hard enough thing to bring up a second time tonight.

She truly couldn't believe her luck. Finally finding a great, no, AMAZING guy and now he's anything but normal. But, what really was normal anymore?

Shaking her head, Emma started. "It really was a great night. You know I'm always telling you how easy Eddie is to talk to right? And how I really felt that things were different with him."

Raya nodded her head listening trying to figure out what could possibly have gone wrong. "So what happened, Em?"

Remembering the first half of the night, Emma couldn't help the smile that crossed her face. "Ya know, I mustered up the courage to ask if he wanted to spend Thanksgiving here together? I felt so silly for asking thinking I was moving too fast too soon. And you know me when I get anxious, I just ramble."

"I do," Raya chuckled. Emma smiles sadly, "and he just sat there with that little grin of his that I love so much and said yes with no hesitation."

"Well." Emma was afraid to even say aloud what happened next.

Raya was confused. Completely. "Not to be a dick, Em. But, how did we get here? It sounds like you had an amazing night so how did it go from that to you walking through the door a sobbing mess?"

Seriously, how did she get here? She still couldn't wrap her head around it.

"We were leaving Battery East Vista and I was going on about what desserts we would have." Emma began. "All of the chocolate. Ya know, I've never met someone who loves chocolate as much as that man does but that's besides the point."

She shook her head hating the next part. "Out of nowhere this man comes up holding a gun and wanting everything we had on us that he could take."

"Oh my GOD?! What the hell, Em. Are you okay? I mean.." Raya trailed off with a mixture of shock and concern crossing her face realizing that was probably a dumb question to be asking right now.

"I know, my luck right?" Emma couldn't help but laugh now. If she didn't laugh she would start crying all over again. "Not really thinking there was any other option, I started to pull my purse off my shoulder to give the man because I just wanted to him to go away. Hoping he would leave as soon as he had my purse in his hands."

Raya listened still trying to figure out how this adds up to Emma being the sobbing mess that walked through their door. I mean she could understand that incident would be a valid enough reason for anyone but she knew it had to be something else. She was afraid to hear what could be worse than that.

"I didn't even get my purse off my shoulder before Eddie was just, he was consumed by this black mass thing. I don't even know what it was, Ray. Just saying this out loud I feel crazy. I have to be crazy because there's no way. HOW DOES SOMETHING LIKE THAT EVEN HAPPEN?" Emma started breathing fast thinking back to what happened and that maybe somehow she made the whole thing up in her head.

She really wished she had.

Ray now more confused than ever squeezed Emma's hand, "Em you're rambling. Just breathe for a minute. What do you mean by a black mass?" Trying to catch her breath, Emma looked at Raya while saying, "Ray, whatever it was it covered his entire body and it was just."

Emma paused. She knew she sounded like she was off her rocker now. And the look on Raya's face, bless her for not interrupting at any point, told her as much.

"The worst part is he ate the guy, Ray. He ate him whole."

The apartment was filled with silence. Complete and utter silence.

Emma was ready to cry all over again as Raya started giggling. Raya stopped as soon as she saw the look on Emma's face. She really didn't mean to laugh but the story sounded like something out of a movie.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to laugh but you know how this is sounding.." Raya bit her lip trying to not sound like an asshole. "Are you sure that's what you saw, Em? I mean maybe from what was happening you.."

Emma scoffed. "I know I sound crazy, Ray! Believe me. I feel absolutely fucking crazy, but, I know what I saw."

"And I'm guessing he didn't explain what was happening?" Raya asked. Emma frowned thinking about everything that happened afterwards. "For starters, I passed the fuck out."

She could tell Raya was about to start laughing again. "Stop that! It's not funny. You can't tell me if you were in my position you would've be standing there calm, cool and collective like it was something that happened everyday."

"Well, you got me there. But, being the lover that you are of horror movies I would think.. Okay, I'll stop." Raya could tell Emma wanted to smack her because she thought Raya wasn't taking her and the situation serious enough. "So what happened when you came to then?" Raya questioned.

"I was horrible, Ray." Emma started crying again remembering the look on Eddie's face because she dismissed him so quickly. "He asked me to hear him out about whatever it is that's going on with him and..I just couldn't, Ray."

Raya wrapped her best friend in a hug again as she sobbed even harder. "Baby girl, why not? We know how great of a guy he is and I've never seen you happier than you've been with him. So why didn't you at least want an explanation?"

Emma looked at her sadly and replied, "I'm scared."

While she still couldn't fully comprehend what it was that happened or even believe it, Raya understood why Emma would be scared.

"Are you afraid of what he could be or are you afraid of being hurt again?" Raya asked. "Because if it's either, baby girl, I don't think Eddie would ever hurt you intentionally." Emma just listened and nodded because she knew Raya was right. "I'm not taking up for the guy because I'd like to kick his ass right now but he cares about you, Em. A lot. You can tell just by the look on his face when he's listening to you ramble on about whatever it is that's on your mind."

Emma looked at her best friend like she was the crazy one now. Raya laughed, "you act like that's so hard to believe that a guy would think you basically hung the stars up in the sky. I've been telling you for as long as I've known you how great you are. It's about time someone else finally realized it."

Raya cleared her throat. "Maybe, you should think about letting Eddie explain himself. Even if it's not right now. Give yourselves both some time to breathe and then reach out to him?"

"But, what if I don't want to?" Emma tried but Raya knew her better than that.

Standing up from the floor, Raya held her hand out for Emma, "come on let's find something to watch on Netflix to try and take your mind off of things even for a little bit."

Emma takes Raya's hand so she can help her up. "Only if it's Stranger Things for the 100th time."

The distraction helped for a little while but Emma couldn't get the look on Eddie's face out of her head.


	4. Part Four

**Part Four**

**Author's Note: _Nothing new to add here other than I'm loving writing these two(or three) together so far. I can't wait to write the next part. Hope you guys enjoy! Please let me know what you think._**

**Disclaimer**_**: I do not own Venom, Eddie Brock or any other character within the franchise. I own the original characters and the plot that are not directly tied to the movie.**_

* * *

Thanksgiving came and went. It was now the beginning of December and Eddie found himself worse off than when Anne left. He hasn't heard from Emma in a month and to say he was miserable would be an understatement.

He barely made it home most days unless Venom forced him to rest. Spending his days consumed by his work or consumed by Venom getting rid of bad guys was a distraction he welcomed.

"**EDDIE?**" Vee rumbled.

Venom noticed a decline with Eddie. He was in even more of a slump than before taking care of Carlton Drake. Eddie was disconnecting a lot and was hardly aware of Venom talking to him some times.

Booping Eddie's face with his own, Venom finally got Eddie's attention and he hated what he saw in his eyes. So much sadness.

"**YOU'RE WASTING AWAY, EDDIE. WE CANNOT AFFORD THAT TO HAPPEN.**"

Eddie sighed, "Vee. I'm fine. We're fine."

"**YOU'RE LYING." **Venom hissed.

"We're taking out the bad guys in the city, eating their brains and we have enough chocolate to fill a candy store. We're okay." Eddie said flatly.

"**BUT YOU ARE UNHAPPY! THAT TASTES WORSE THAN DEAD MEAT, EDDIE.**"

"I'm sorry, Vee." He didn't know why he thought he could hide anything from Venom. Sometimes he hated that his thoughts weren't just his anymore. But without Venom, he'd feel even lonelier because he was cursed to ever have any kind of human relationships. They always fell apart and he seemed to be the only common factor. So it had to be him.

"**YOU MISS HER.** **_WE _****MISS HER.**" Venom grumbled sadly.

Eddie didn't reply. He couldn't think passed the sinking feeling at the thought of her again.

"How about we check out the pier again. Maybe we'll get lucky and find the rest of that gang?" Eddie closes his apartment door before Venom could say anything else.

* * *

You missed him. Too much. Everything made you think of Eddie. You stopped going to your coffee shop because the one time you went to get your usual, you immediately started crying as soon as you sat at your table. The table you would sit at with Eddie and talk for hours.

Luckily there were tons of other coffee shops in the city so it wasn't hard to find another one. They never felt right, but, they'd have to do.

You hated leaving work. Leaving work meant going home and thinking. Thinking that always lead back to Eddie. Weekends you spent cooped up at your bookstore reading in one of the cozy chairs or talking to Mel. You even started picking up random hobbies that would keep your mind occupied. This week you were working on a paint-by-numbers kit you bought at one of the local arts and crafts shop. It was a picture of a fox mother and her kits. This particular hobby was much better than the last one which ended with all of your fingers pricked at least once before you gave up.

Raya helped too. Making plans to go to the movies one night out of the week, out to brunch on Sundays and just roaming the city together discovering new places.

Nothing really filled that void though.

She knew she was being silly by not reaching out to him even to just hear him out. But, she was scared. What she was really scared of she didn't know. Emma often wondered if she was subconsciously using whatever Eddie's secret really was as an excuse to not get too close? Could she really be sabotaging herself from what she knew was a great relationship so far with a great guy aside from this hiccup.

Even though it was a pretty big hiccup.

Then with a sinking feeling, she thought 'What if he doesn't even want to see me anymore now. What if he's moved on since it's already been a month.'

Even with these thoughts she couldn't bring herself to pick up her phone and contact Eddie.

She knew what she needed to do to help calm herself down. Baking always helped her when she was in college and stressed beyond belief because of her classes. So she put her light gray jean jacket on and headed out to the store.

* * *

"Anne doesn't want to hear my girl problems, Vee." Eddie huffed. Venom wouldn't let up about trying to gain Emma's forgiveness. He could feel how much her absence hurt Eddie emotionally, mentally and physically and it needed to be fixed. His Eddie deserved to be happy like he once was.

"**BUT SHE IS A GIRL, EDDIE! SHE WILL KNOW HOW TO FIX THINGS WITH EMMA.**" Venom hissed. So far any advice Venom offered, Eddie wouldn't take. But, he wouldn't let up on this one. Anne was smart and would know exactly what to do.

"**IF YOU WILL NOT CALL HER I WILL FORCE YOU TO."**

Eddie chuckled dryly. "If you'll force me to call Anne, what's stopped you from forcing me to contact Emma already?"

Venom snuggled into Eddie's neck trying to comfort him. "**I KNOW SOME THINGS FOR YOU HUMANS ARE MORE COMPLEX THAN THEY NEED TO BE ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO EMOTIONS. SOMETHING THAT STILL ANNOYS ME. BUT, I KNOW YOU CANNOT FORCE EMMA.**"

Eddie ran his fingers over Venom causing the symbiote to start purring under his touch. "What's the point though, Vee?" He sounded so dejected, Venom hated it knowing this was partially their fault to begin with.

"Fine. If it makes you happy I'll give Anne a call." Eddie sighed. "Can we at least eat first?"

Venom hummed.

* * *

The store she usually finds all of her baking essentials was out of eggs. Of all things, eggs. Emma walked a few blocks over to Mrs. Chen's store praying she wouldn't have to travel to a third store.

As she was walking, Emma appreciated the difference in weather here compared to back home in Philadelphia. By this time of year in Philly it would be freezing, if it wasn't a rare day of 65 degrees(thank you global warming), and possibly even snowing. She definitely would not miss the snowy weather. At all. It was pretty when it was falling but it was an absolute nightmare trekking through to get to work.

She sighed with relief seeing Mrs. Chen's store come into view. Ready to be home already, Emma hurried into the store greeting Mrs. Chen along the way. Again she sighed with relief at seeing the store was fully stocked with eggs.

Checking over the eggs to see which pack looked the best, Emma didn't hear the ding of another customer entering the store.

Turning around she could've kicked herself for picking this store to go to.

* * *

"Eddie, why didn't you tell me you met someone? What's she like? Tell me all about her!" Anne rambled on.

Eddie suddenly regretted calling Anne now. He wasn't surprised that she would be interested in hearing all about Emma but had hoped it would've been simple enough that he just asked her what to do without all the other details. It was almost too painful.

He could hear the excitement in Anne's voice as she continued. She had been hoping Eddie would finally find someone. Someone who would make him happy.

"Annie, she's really great," Eddie sighed. "But, I messed up."

"**WE MESSED UP.**" Venom's voice ranged through Eddie's head.

He prepared himself for a lecture but all he heard was Anne sigh on the other end. "What happened?"

And so Eddie began telling Anne the story of what happened all those months ago as he made his way down the street. Replaying that night in his head for another time sucked. He's done it far too many times over the last month so what's once more he thought to himself.

"Eddie…"

He stopped just outside of his destination. "Annie, what do I do?" He questioned softly.

Anne didn't answer right away which led to Eddie thinking maybe he shouldn't have called her. Thinking the entire situation was even more of a lost cause than it originally was. Maybe he couldn't fix this.

"Well, I think you should at the very least try texting her, Eddie. Let her know you understand that she needs her space and you still want to have that conversation as long as she allows it. Let her know you're still thinking about her and that you were an idiot. Yes, you were being an idiot, for not confiding in her sooner regardless of how crazy it sounds." He knew he was an idiot and wishes he hadn't been such a "pussy" as venom enjoyed calling him. "She sounds like a really great girl, Eddie. Don't give up so easily. Whatever happens at least you can say you tried."

Eddie sighed with a bit of relief suddenly not feeling as awful about it as he did. "Thanks Annie. That. That really helped a bit. I'll talk to you later?"

"Bye Eddie. I wanna hear what happens, next time. Take care of yourself." With that Eddie hung up.

"**SEE. I TOLD YOU ANNE WOULD KNOW WHAT TO DO.**"

Eddie rolled his eyes with a smile that had been missing from his face for weeks, "yeah, yeah. Let's just get what we need and go home."

To say he was not prepared as he walked into Mrs. Chen's was an understatement.

* * *

Emma stood there holding the eggs and staring at Eddie as he walked into the store like a fish out of water. Wishing the ground would open up and swallow her whole because she wasn't prepared for this yet. She even considered running for the door but that meant she'd have to basically run into him because Eddie was now frozen in front of the door staring right back at her.

God she missed him. It hit her even harder now just seeing his face again. And could he have looked any better? He was wearing his leather jacket that he wore so well and jeans that hugged his legs just right. But she couldn't ignore the fact he looked exhausted. Emma felt a twinge of guilt at that thought still blaming herself for putting the hurt look on his face a month ago.

"Hi Em." He said with that sweet smile of his.

She almost broke because how could he still smile at her like that? She pulled herself together enough to reply. "H-hi Eddie."

And then they just stood there staring at one another until Mrs. Chen interrupted asking if Emma was going to pay for her eggs today or what.

After paying Mrs. Chen, Eddie stood off to the side completely forgetting what he came here for. He had to say something right? It can't be a coincidence she ended up at the exact store he frequents daily. This wasn't even the closest store to her apartment.

Forgetting Anne's advice only slightly since it didn't seem he needed to bother with texting, he figured he could relay the same message to Emma but in person. Even better.

"Em, I know shit is crazy right now. And I understand that you haven't wanted to see or speak to me since that night but." He paused suddenly feeling too overwhelmed and scared. But if he didn't try… "I'd still like to have that talk about, ya know. Whenever you're ready and if you'd even want to."

Emma bit her lip trying to hold in her emotions as she listened to Eddie.

He waited a minute to see if she'd give him an answer. Any answer.

Eddie sighed. Turning slightly to walk out the door and said, "I'll see you, Em. I mean. Just, take care of yourself and be careful walking home." He felt stupid. How could he think she was going to leap for joy. But, at least he tried like, Anne said. He had to find some comfort in that.

Venom was silent as they headed down the street choosing to just head home and eat whatever they could hopefully find there.

About halfway down the block Eddie heard someone screaming his name. Stopping he looked over his shoulder to see Emma running towards him.

"Eddie, please wait!" She shouted even though he hadn't moved from his spot. He chuckled as she seemed to trip over her foot slightly trying to get to him. She was so clumsy.

Out of breath, she looked at him with tears in her eyes. "Eddie, I'm sorry."

He was confused. Why was she saying sorry? He was the one who hurt her. Eddie opened his mouth to ask her but she beat him to it. "I should have never ignored you and pushed you away that night. I was completely awful."

Holding her bags tightly, she started sobbing. She felt like such a mess.

"Can we still have that talk?"


	5. Part Five

**Part Five**

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Eddie Brock, Venom or any of the other characters within the franchise. **_

* * *

The short trip back to Emma's apartment was in silence. Unlike the last time though, it was anything but tense. While nervous, Emma felt hopeful. Hopeful that things weren't a complete mess between herself and Eddie.

Emma figured they could have this talk at her apartment since she was already heading there anyway and Raya wouldn't be back for a few hours because of work. Plus, she didn't think this was a conversation that should be happening out in a very public place.

She had missed him so much. Just his presence alone was comforting.

"Make yourself at home, Eddie. I figured we could start that talk while I work on making these cupcakes?" She asked knowing he wouldn't turn down some chocolate. Hoping anyway.

**"****SAY YES, EDDIE! YES!"** Venom's voice rumbled through Eddie's head. Eddie could practically feel Venom drooling for more chocolate.

He smiled that sweet smile you missed seeing so much and replied, "You know me and my chocolate. Can never say no."

"I still don't know how you can eat so much of it and look how you look, Eddie." Emma pouted as she put the rest of the ingredients she needed on the counter.

Eddie chuckled as he sat down at the island facing the counter Emma was working at. It felt like all of the pain and sadness from the last month melted away just by being near her again. He missed the feeling she gave him. Venom hummed happily as the thought passed through Eddie's head.

They both felt happier despite not talking through anything yet.** "WE'LL BE OKAY, EDDIE."**

"So," Eddie started nervously. "How have you been, Em?"

Emma paused in thought as she started mixing the dry and wet ingredients together. She couldn't help but laugh thinking about the truth. "Not gonna lie, Eddie. I've been better." _'I missed you'_ she thought to herself but didn't want to voice that aloud just yet.

"Heh, seems the feeling's mutual." Eddie replied looking up at Emma and holding her gaze for a moment. Thinking much the same as her, about how much he had missed her and quite frankly how miserable he had been without her.

**"****EDDIE, WHY IS SHE ADDING BLOOD TO THE CUPCAKES?" **Venom's voice echoed in Eddie's head causing confusion to cross his face. Looking to see what Emma was doing, he smirked, "Vee, that's food coloring. It changes the color of the cupcakes."

**"****HMM."**

Emma switched the mixer on to let everything slowly blend together and turned towards Eddie. Figuring they may as well pull the band-aid off and get to the whole point of even being here together right now.

"Eddie, what was that last month?" She whispered softly while looking to make sure the batter wasn't over blending.

He sighed knowing he had to tell her everything now. "Remember when I told you about the mess I got into with that Carlton Drake case?"

Emma nodded while turning the mixer off so she could start scooping the batter into the cupcake pans.

"Well, one of the doctors who worked for him reached out to me about the messed up crap he was doing; experiments on the homeless in the city." Eddie continued. "He was trying to bond humans with symbiotes."

"Symbiotes?" Emma questioned.

"Basically they're another life form from space. They need a host in order to survive here on earth." Eddie answered nervously because he didn't know how she was going to take the next bit he told her.

Emma looked at him as she put the first batch of cupcakes into the oven. "So they're like aliens?" She asked with her nose scrunched up in thought.

Eddie chuckled, "Sort of."

"Okay, so what happened with the doctor?" Emma asked.

"I met with her at Drake's research facility and I was only supposed to document what I saw going on in there." Eddie trailed off.

He felt Emma take his hand like she always used to when Eddie had a hard time talking about things. She gave him a soft smile letting him know it was okay. How could she be comforting him even through this?

She squeezed his hand as he continued, "This woman, Maria, I would see from time to time and talk to was one of the people Drake was experimenting on. I thought I could save her but." He paused again feeling like he couldn't breathe as he thought about that night and what happened again.

**"****EDDIE, TELL HER."**

"The symbiote that was connected to Maria transferred to me. Bonded with me." Eddie said.

He would've laughed at the look on Emma's face if he didn't feel so scared. Scared of what her reaction would be once she fully processed what he was saying.

"So." Emma started trying to understand what Eddie was saying. "That's what bit that guy's head off?"

**"****HE WAS A BAD GUY!"** Venom grumbled in Eddie's head causing him to wince a bit. Eddie rubbed his thumb over Emma's hand that was still holding his as she was processing everything.

"Yeah, pretty much." He laughed nervously.

Emma jumped up as the oven beeped letting her know the cupcakes she put in were finished. She set the pan on top of the oven to start cooling as she put the next batch in the oven. This was a lot for her to take in but she didn't feel as afraid as before. Eddie would never hurt her she kept telling herself. He's had this alien thing in him since well before they even met and nothing bad has ever happened to her.

She couldn't help from asking as she started working on the cream cheese icing for the cupcakes, "Is it bad? The alien, symbiote whatever?"

Eddie winced again as he prepared for Venom to start shrieking about how they only took care of bad guys but it was surprisingly quiet in his head. He stood up to move near Emma as she mixed the ingredients in a small bowl.

"Not completely. They're more of an asshole than anything else really. We only harm bad guys. That's the rule." Eddie tried reassuring her, feeling hopeful that she wasn't kicking him out of her apartment. At least not yet.

**"****YOU ARE THE ASSHOLE, EDDIE." **Venom hissed causing Eddie to laugh. Emma looked to Eddie almost asking what he was laughing about.

He cleared his throat and started explaining, "Since were bonded they're able to communicate with me and they were just letting me know that I am in fact the asshole, not them."

Emma suddenly giggled at that.

Eddie couldn't help the huge smile that took over his face at that sound. God, he missed hearing it. This was going so much better than he could have ever hoped. He didn't know what he had done to deserve this woman but he would be forever grateful.

"Oh, so that's funny to you is it?" He asked playfully stepping closer to her.

"No, no!" Emma couldn't help but still giggle. "I'm sorry." And then she wrapped Eddie into a hug. A hug they both missed.

He wrapped his arms around her, squeezing tight. "No, I'm sorry, Em. We should've had this conversation months ago. I was just scared. Still kinda am, not gonna lie." He laughed.

**"****EDDIE."** Venom called.

"Hmm, what is it, Vee?" Eddie asked as he still hugged Emma, burying his face into her hair. Then he suddenly stilled and tensed in her arms at Venom's response.

Emma pulled away slightly. "What's wrong, Eddie?" He looked more nervous now than when he first started explaining everything. "You can tell me."

"Venom wants to meet you. Properly." Eddie spoke softly.

He didn't miss the brief flash of panic that crossed Emma's face. "If you're not okay with that, we don't have to do that, Em. I know this is a lot to take in as it is. I don't want to make you any more uncomfortable by forcing that on you." Eddie said as he rubbed her arms comfortingly.

"That's their name? I'm just. I'm a little, no, a lot nervous, Eddie. But, I mean, they've always been there right?" She bit her lip trying to hide how scared she really was. But, she wanted to try for Eddie because she really liked him. A lot. And couldn't bear the thought of not seeing him again.

"If it means anything, they like you. Maybe as much as I do." Eddie laughed nervously while running one of his hands through his hair.

**"****MAYBE?"** Venom growled.

"Really?" Emma asked curiously.

Eddie laughed, "Yeah, Em. May be biased but, who couldn't like you?" She blushes at that and Eddie could see she was ready to disagree with him but he continued before she could, "I know they won't hurt you. That thought has never crossed their mind. Ever."

**"****NEVER!"** Venom shouted causing Eddie to wince yet again.

"What? What are they saying?!" Emma asked almost excitedly causing Eddie to laugh.

They both jumped when the oven dinged again. Emma moved to get the last of the cupcakes out of the oven to start cooling and turned to Eddie waiting for him to tell her what this Venom said.

Eddie smiled feeling like everything was really going to be okay. "They said they would never ever hurt you."

The whole thing really was strange. Stranger than anything Emma's ever experienced or heard of. But, she really wanted to kick herself for ever letting them go a month apart instead of hearing him out when this first happened.

What's the worst that could happen if she agrees to letting Venom "properly" meet her?

She turned to Eddie. "Okay."

He looked to her a bit confused, "hmm?"

No going back now. Emma took a deep breath, "I think I'd like to meet them too if that's okay?"


	6. Part Six

**Part Six**

_**Author's Note: Not too sure how I'm feeling about this chapter tbh. I just really felt like I needed to write something especially with everything going on. I know it's a rough time for everyone right now. I hope wherever you all are at in the world, you are okay and well. Enjoy xx**_

_**Review: **_nikki-cole420 thank you for your review! I'm glad to hear that you are enjoying this story so far.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Eddie Brock, Venom or any other characters within the franchise. I own the original characters and the plot that are not directly tied to the movie.**

* * *

Eddie had never felt the symbiote vibrate so happily before. He knew Venom liked Emma but didn't realize it was to this extent. It was almost on par with Venom getting more chocolate or another bad guy. _Almost_.

This made things so much easier for him. It didn't really matter how much Eddie liked someone, if Venom didn't like the person even a tiny bit it would just be a lost cause.

And Eddie never thought Venom would like another woman as much as they liked Anne.

"**DIFFERENT.**" Venom rumbled.

"I know buddy."

Emma stood in front of Eddie expectantly. Waiting for whatever was going to happen nervously but also feeling kind of excited. She knew she should be a little scared because this symbiote that's connected to Eddie bit a guy's head off with no hesitation, but she also trusted Eddie. Trusted that nothing bad would happen to her.

Eddie chuckled nervously running his hand along the back of his neck as he said, "I just want to warn you, Em. This could be a shock. The first time I was kind of introduced to Venom I fell back into my shower."

"**YOU SCREAMED LIKE A PUSSY, EDDIE.**"

"Shut up, Vee." Eddie huffed causing Emma to giggle again.

He looked at her amused by how positive this was going so far. Who knows what would happen once she met Venom though?

"Okay." Eddie breathed in figuring delaying the whole thing wouldn't help any especially since he'd been delaying it altogether for months.

Emma grabbed Eddie's hand reassuringly.

Her eyes bugged out of her head when she saw the black goop-like substance moving along Eddie's shoulder. She was about to move her hand out to touch it when Eddie asked her to wait a second.

The black goop morphed into a head floating next to Eddie's.

"Whoa," Emma said softly as she took in the dark figure with white eyes and huge sharp teeth.

"**HELLO EMMA.**" Venom said with that almost permanent Cheshire grin on their face.

Her eyes bugged out even more. She knew Venom talked to Eddie especially in his head, but this was something else. It really was like something out of a movie.

Venom was swirling their head around trying to take all of Emma in for the first time, properly.

"Hi Venom." She spoke softly while doing much the same to them.

Eddie just stood and watched as two of those most important to him were acquainted. Venom hadn't stopped vibrating since the moment Emma agreed to meet them. Emma still stared with wide eyes at Venom but not in a frightful way. Just curious.

Emma was almost itching to touch Venom. The goop seemed to continuously swirl around like water when you move your fingers through it. She wanted to know what it felt like.

"What does it feel like?" Emma asked as she look between Eddie and Venom.

Venom hummed as Eddie replied, "If you want you can feel for yourself, Em." Venom's excitement was like that of a child on Christmas morning.

"**THIS IS BETTER, EDDIE.**" Venom said out loud.

Emma lifted her hand to touch the goop along Eddie's shoulder. As soon as her fingers touched the blackness, it started weaving through her fingers. She expected coldness but was met with a pleasant warmth.

She couldn't stop the smiling from spreading across her face as she ran her fingers over it.

"So cool," she whispered.

Eddie let a sigh of relief out at those words. When he bonded with Venom, he settled on the idea of never getting into another relationship again after Anne. For one, he didn't think he'd ever truly move on from her and two, he didn't think anyone would be open to a relationship with someone who's connected to an alien.

But then Emma happened. She was something else and Eddie continued thanking whoever for working in his favor thinking he deserved someone like her in his life.

Her fingers curiously moved along the ever moving symbiote edging closer to their head. Looking to Eddie making sure this was okay, Emma ran one finger along what would be Venom's forehead as soon as Eddie nodded.

Venom's eyes closed in contentment that Emma, his third possibly soon to be second favorite person, was finally touching them. Looking at them. They weren't a secret to her anymore after so long of wanting to know her how Eddie does. Sure, they knew everything that Eddie knew, but it wasn't the same.

Suddenly Venom pushed their face into Emma's hand causing her to yelp at the movement but never stopping the rubs to Venom's face.

With a rumbling laugh Venom asked, "**MORE.**"

Emma laughed as she looked to Eddie who hadn't really said much during this whole interaction. He squeezed her hand and asked, "Is this okay, Em?"

Smiling she pulled Eddie into her for a much-needed hug. "I'm not gonna lie this is a lot to take in, Eddie. But I think we're gonna be okay."

He wrapped his arms around her tightly as Venom seemed to wrap them all up in their warmth.

"I missed you too much." Emma whispered into his shoulder. They swayed together for a moment as they both felt relief and so much more complete.

Eddie sighed, "Missed you too, Em."

He pressed a kiss to the side of her neck as they pulled away. Emma turned her head to look at Venom again with a soft smile on her face.

"It's going to take some getting used to having you around. I still don't understand how any of this is real but…" She trailed off because while this was still weird to her, it didn't bother her as much as it did before. "So, it's okay with you that we share Eddie?"

The grin always-present on Venom's face stretched even more at her question.

"**WE'LL BE SHARING YOU AS WELL.**"

Emma's eyes bugged out of her head again as she blushed.

"VEE!" Eddie all but shrieked. Emma's question had been nothing but innocent and here Venom went insinuating otherwise when Emma and Eddie hadn't done anything more than kiss yet. Plus, everything was going more than well right now, and Eddie didn't need Venom ruining it in any way.

Venom just laughed.

Emma couldn't even think about _that_ right now because she knew she would freak out. Whenever they get to that point, they would worry about it or by that point she would be so used to Venom it wouldn't even matter.

Moving to check on the cupcakes, she figured she could start on the icing since they cooled down enough. She looked to Eddie, "how about we finish these cupcakes?" as she pulled the ingredients needed from the fridge.

Eddie flashed that sweet smile of his she loved as he scolded Venom internally about bringing up things he shouldn't yet.

Venom ignored Eddie as he shouted, "**CHOCOLATE!**"


End file.
